Cochin is a fast developing commercial and tourist destination. But the city has its own problems – traffic jams, garbage strewn over the place, open drains, potholes, narrow roads and so on. What is it that can be done to make it a much better place to live? This is exactly what CPPR wishes to find out under Reinventing Cochin project….the part played by the state and civil society

Monday, November 15, 2010

Road repair in Cochin - a plea to the Mayor

Dear Hon'ble Mayor,

I am pleased to note that you have taken serious note on the bad shape of the roads in Cochin. I would hope this annual exercise is done away with the earnest commitment and dedication to the work carried out. I have not seen repairing of the roads every quarter elsewhere as in Cochin. I hope you would find out the reasons for the same. I am told that on an average 150 new vehicles are hitting the city roads every day. Given the fact that we don't have an efficient public transport system (about which i write later), gutters and potholes lead to wastage of crores of rupees every day on city roads. many a times, i wondered we could have widened over bridges and many rail way over bridges with this money. but who bothers?

Last but not the least, I urge for repair works to be carried out during off peak hours preferably during night. i wish this would not be another burden on the commuting public. As one who represents the middle class and young generation of the city, i sincerely wish you pay attention to the working hours and the loss and damage caused to the companies and offices if these repair works are carried out during the peak hours. As the Mayor of this city, you should appreciate and respect the business economy and general public alike for sustaining this city.

2 comments:

it seems that the monsoon gods will descent on kerala only if they see enough potholes on the roads. ( see how much rains we had this year.) so the govt needs to keep our roads the way they are. i can understand their predicament. but why not take a calculated risk and try to reduce the depth and width of the craters .

my main doubt however is a different one. why not try and do something soon after the monsoon beats retreat.

forgive the sarcasm. sorry i couldnt help it. let me be serious.

why not allow the road users to repair the roads. it is mainly the bus owners who lose money ( some one should calculate what the real loss on acount of extra fuel, missed trips , repair cost etc is ) and they should be more than willing to meet the cost.

why not work on the modalities to allow the users to repair and maintain the service that they use at least in exigencies.

1. remove the time table. let the buses take their own time to reach the destination. passengers will take care of any deliberate delay. (none adheres to the time table even now due to blocks and other genuine reasons. but the operators use it as an excuse for speeding and unruly driving.)

2. ban overtaking. turning at 90 degrees to overtake a parked bus is a sure recipe for blocks if not accidents. no bus should overtake another bus in the city say from vytiila to kaloor

3. deploy more ksrtc buses. whatever improvement we see on the road today is due to the new ksrtc buses. an alternative is now available and that has put the private bus chaps on caution. ( more buses means more congestion is probably a wrong motion. reliable and comfortable bus service can keep a good number of private vehicles off the road. )

4. reintroduce the manual railway gates. nothing wrong in allowing a car to cross the railway lines ( when the lines are free ) to go , say , from the main entrance of the south railway station to its eastern entrance. ( we are now forcing them to use the overbridge )